Kanye West may well think that he is a free thinker, but the rapper's latest comments may well end up costing him financially as well as reputationally.

A petition has been launched that calls for Adidas - who manufacture his enormously successful Yeezy line of trainers - to boycott West, following his hugely controversial comments regarding slavery being 'a choice'.

West made the remarks during an interview on TMZ and has been roundly condemned for them, despite taking to Twitter to explain himself and claim that he was being 'attacked for presenting new ideas' - which he later deleted.

The petition, on Care2, says: "While Kanye can live safely in his multimillion-dollar castle, the rest of black America is continually marginalized and subject to unjust laws and treatment. Some even die because this behavior is so ingrained in our society. Kanye West has a right to free speech, and he has the right to spout lies and misinformation and misplaced opinions — but we as consumers have the right to fight back against this type of dangerous propaganda."

It adds: "Tell the world [Adidas does] not want anything to do with anyone who believes that millions of Africans chose to toil the fields in bondage."

So far, it has achieved almost 4,000 of its 10,000 signature goal.